Wolf Mountain Resort: Terrain park leads pack of popular features for skiers

A composite image shows Nick Keefer launching off one of the obstacles at Wolf's Lair Terrain Park at Wolf Mountain. Wolf's Lair is resort's signature run.

Signature run  Wolf's Lair Terrain Park

There's a little of everything within the park, which is why it is so popular, ranging from features for the early beginner to the more advanced skiers and snowboarders. The park is more than twice the size it was last year and includes a full range of challenging features and obstacles. Within the park are 20 rail features, along with nearly a dozen run boxes, a triple air jump, slope style and rail runs, a quarter pipe, a big-air jump and natural log terrain features. Access to the park is off the Wolf's Lair triple chairlift. Terrain parks have become very popular, especially with younger skiers and snowboarders, which is why the resort put so much into its park this winter.

No. 1 Run  Moose Run.

This has been a very popular run with skiers and snowboarders this year. It is a gentle slope, rated as a beginner run, that is wide open and allows for some great carving turns and a chance to build up the confidence and inflate the ego. It is

accessed by getting off at the middle station of Howling Wolf chairlift. It is a gentle curving run that leads back to the lift.

Top 10

1. Moose Run; 2. Bayot's Boulevard is a beginner run that is also accessed off the Howling Wolf lift and is a great beginner run that some say feels more like being on a race-car track; 3. Barney's Way is an expert run that is accessed off the Howling Wolf chair that was used as a training run by skiers in the 2002 Olympics and is used today for skiers and snowboarders looking to improve their carving skills; 4. Aspen Chute is a blue run that offers some great tree shots on powder days; 5. Wandering Wolf is a beginner run that offers some great "lazy" turns, especially at the end of the day; 6. Lobo Lane is a beginner run that affords skiers and snowboarders an easy route to Barney's Way; 7. Cougar Canyon is an expert run that affords skiers and snowboarders a perfect tune-up before entering into Barney's Way; 8, Wile E. Coyote is an expert run that offers some quick, steep shots through the aspens; 9. Night Owl is a tree-lined beginner run that skiers and snowboards really enjoy, especially at night; 10. Oh My Heck Hill is an intermediate run that lets the name speak for the run.

History

Wolf Mountain, formerly Nordic Valley, has had a somewhat shaky life. The first lift opened in 1971. A second started running in 1972. Over the years there has been talk of more runs, more lifts and more lodges, but it wasn't until it was purchased by Wolf Creek Resorts, a real estate development in Eden, Weber County, that real improvements surfaced, which included the addition of a new lift this winter, bringing the number to three chairlifts. The resort covers 450 acres, of which 110 acres offer ski and snowboard use. Actually, the resort does have its claim to Utah ski fame: It is both Utah's smallest and largest. All skiable acres are lit up at night, which makes it Utah's largest night skiing/snowboarding operation. With only three lifts and 110 acres, it is also Utah's smallest resort. After the resort was purchased, one of the first things done was to change the names of its lifts to better fit its image. Viking lift, for example, became Howling Wolf chairlift. Runs that had Viking-like names were also changed. The terrain park became Wolf's Lair Terrain Park. Wolf Creek Resorts is a nearby community of upscale condominium lodging, golf course, clubhouse, restaurant, tennis and family activity center. Wolf Mountain can be reached either by taking the Trapper's Loop Road or driving up Ogden Canyon, then driving over the Pineview Dam to Eden. A hard left leads to Wolf Mountain; going straight at the junction leads to Wolf Creek Resort.